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Possible Stolen gun
jerry bateman
Member Posts: 307 ✭✭✭
Hello
Perhaps some of you guys can help. I am an FFL holder since 1970 and I live in Indiana. I recently sold a Colt Diamondback to a gentleman from Tennessee. I bought this gun in question on a Gun Broker Auction in 2007 from a Pawn shop in Georgia. Yesterday my customer from Tennessee phoned me and said the Police confinscated the gun from the FFL. holder where my customer had me ship the gun, they told him it was stolen. I called the ATF. at the ATF. NIC's location where the Background checks are performed, the officer at ATF. said they don't check serial no.'s when doing background checks. My customer is Demanding his money back, I haven't talked to the FFL. holder or authorities in Tennessee yet.
This Situation is something totally new to me and I know nothing about or exactly what I need to do. How was this FFL. holder able to Determine the gun was stolen? I only want HELP from people know exactly what they are talking about.
Thanks in advance
Perhaps some of you guys can help. I am an FFL holder since 1970 and I live in Indiana. I recently sold a Colt Diamondback to a gentleman from Tennessee. I bought this gun in question on a Gun Broker Auction in 2007 from a Pawn shop in Georgia. Yesterday my customer from Tennessee phoned me and said the Police confinscated the gun from the FFL. holder where my customer had me ship the gun, they told him it was stolen. I called the ATF. at the ATF. NIC's location where the Background checks are performed, the officer at ATF. said they don't check serial no.'s when doing background checks. My customer is Demanding his money back, I haven't talked to the FFL. holder or authorities in Tennessee yet.
This Situation is something totally new to me and I know nothing about or exactly what I need to do. How was this FFL. holder able to Determine the gun was stolen? I only want HELP from people know exactly what they are talking about.
Thanks in advance
Comments
Good luck,
JIM..............
I am afraid you will likely be the one to loose here. Too much time has gone by for you to go back to the pawn shop in Ga for any refund from them. Short story: A few years back I bought several guns from a guy in Lagrange Co. One was a Winchester M100 rifle. I sold that here on GB to a buyer in Louisiana. He contacted Winchester to see if the factory replacement firing pin had been installed under their recall of this model. Well, Winchester had this gun on a stolen list. They reported it to the local LEO. The Sheriff where the buyer was from came and confiscated the rifle. It had been stolen in a burglery in the early 1980's in Sturgis, Mi. I provided the name of the guy I got it from to the local cops but I do not know if anything was done. They did not seem very interested in investigating a 25 year old crime. I talked to a detective from Sturgis and he told me the gun would be returned there and returned to the owner if possible. If the owner had been paid by the insurance co or was not located the gun would be destroyed. No way in any world would I or my customer be getting the gun back. Michigan destroys all non returnable guns. I issued a refund to the buyer. I could have sued the guy I got it from but a $450 rifle was not worth the effort and costs. Since you are the one who sold it last, you are the one who will have to eat the loss. Just get copies of reports from the law enforcement who seized the gun from your buyer to be sure this was a stolen gun. Not much more you can do besides return the money to your buyer. Don't you just love how there is no way for us FFL's to check for stolen guns? Good luck, Phil.
after receiving copies of the police report, refund the buyers $$, then contact the pawn shop and provide the paperwork you received..........and hope for the best.
Good and correct advice from Mike. You may have a civil case against the pawn shop if the Statute of Limitations has not expired but it may not be worth the expense since you are in different states.
after receiving copies of the police report,(AND VERIFYING THE INFO WITH THE PD INVOLVED) refund the buyers $$, then contact the pawn shop and provide the paperwork you received..........and hope for the best.
I added to the above.
Suppose a Webley-Vickers Rhino Roller, caliber .50-80, serial number A505050, is stolen and entered in the NCIC computer.
An officer lays hands on a gun in his jurisdiction, a Webley-Vickers Twinkie Duster, caliber .50-45, serial number L505050. He runs that gun through NCIC. He will get a hit on the Rhino Roller. That's when we actually have to compare the gun in hand to the one in the stolen report.
If it were me, and I found that there was a legitimate police report reporting THIS SAME GUN stolen, with serial number and NCIC entry, and that ALL the paperwork pre-dates my acquisition of the gun, I would refund the buyer's money. I have been in this situation once, and did just that.
I also got my money back from the pawn shop where I bought the gun. I had to make a complaint with the Consumer Credit Commission to get it done, but the pawnbroker did give me my money back. I have no idea whether he got his money back from the thief who sold him the gun.
I would have to see the actual reports before I did a darn thing though.